Appeal for Protected Zones in Syria

In a letter published in today’s Washington Post, 12 diplomats, former State Department officials, judges, professors, journalists and ambassadors appeal to U.S. President Barack Obama to establish Protected Zones in northern and southern Syria.

But is “a negotiated settlement between [Syrian President Bashar] Assad and the moderate opposition” possible or indeed what the opposition is seeking?

They write:

* * * *

To the President and Leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives:

We urge you to establish Protected Zones in northern and southern Syria that are safe from attacks by the Assad regime and ISIL. Establishing Protected Zones would alleviate the severity of the world’s worst humanitarian crisis by:

• Ending the killing of innocent civilians in these regions;
• Curtailing egregious human rights abuses;
• Enabling humanitarian organizations supported and funded by the Administration and Congress to deliver emergency assistance in safety;
• Allowing refugees to begin returning from neighboring Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon;
• Facilitating reconstruction projects in protected towns; and
• Encouraging opposition-led democratic governance to grow deeper roots.

Protected Zones can be integrated with the Administration’s air campaign against ISIL to tip the military balance away from Assad, giving him an incentive to reach a negotiated settlement with the moderate opposition.

Protected Zones should be established in three provinces: Aleppo -- which includes Syria’s largest city of Aleppo -- and Idlib in the north along the Turkish border; and Deraa province bordering Jordan. No U.S. ground forces would be involved. U.S. air power already engaged in the ­fight against ISIL and partnered with Free Syrian Army ground forces would provide necessary security in the Protected Zones.

The goal would be to help create and defend the three designated Protected Zones, not oust the regime by direct U.S. force.

Once established, Protected Zones would provide a secure base for the Free Syrian Army to take the offensive against ISIL while moderate opposition leaders negotiate with Assad on a transitional government.

U.S. leadership to provide air cover for Free Syrian Army defenders of designated Protected Zones could produce a humanitarian breakthrough for large numbers of Syrians, put ISIL on the defensive, and make a negotiated settlement between Assad and the moderate opposition possible.

Ambassador (ret.) Mort Abramowitz

Nina Bang-Jensen

Professor Cherif Bassiouni

Judge (ret.) Thomas Buergenthal

Honorable Lee H. Hamilton

 James Hooper

Robert Kagan

Peter Kovler

Aryeh Neier

Ambassador (ret.) Tom Pickering

Hon. Anne-Marie Slaughter

Dr. Paul R. Williams

Syira UNSCR 2139: Now show us the beef!

The Security Council's unanimous vote Saturday

As barrel bombs continue to rain down on the northwestern city of Aleppo, the United Nations Security Council on Saturday (February 22) united for the first time on Syria and issued a resolution on access to humanitarian aid in the war-torn country.

UNSCR 2139 says both Syrian government and opposition forces must allow aid convoys to reach civilians.

Although it does not threaten sanctions, the resolution warns of "further steps" if the sides do not comply.

Russia and China, who vetoed previous similar resolutions during the three-year war, voted in favor.

The resolution calls for the cessation of shelling, aerial bombardments and barrels bombs while demanding cross-border access for aid convoys as well as an end to sieges across Syria.

Will Syrian President Bashar al-Assad comply? As the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating…

Reuters quotes Lithuanian UN Ambassador Raimonda Murmokaite, president of the 15-member Security Council for February, as describing the unanimous approval of the resolution, drafted by Australia, Jordan and Luxembourg, as a "moment of hope" for Syria's people.

Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the Council after the vote that Moscow supported the move because "many Russian considerations were borne in mind and as a result the document took on a balanced nature."

China's UN Ambassador Liu Jieyi said Beijing was "gravely concerned" by Syria's worsening humanitarian situation. "We strongly urge all the parties in Syria to implement this resolution in good faith," he said.

The resolution asks UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to report to the Council in 30 days on implementation and "expresses its intent to take further steps in the case of non-compliance."

But it is unlikely Russia will agree to any action if Syria's government is found to be in non-compliance.

The United Nations says 9.3 million people need help -- nearly half the population -- and that well over 100,000 people have been killed. The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has said that more than 136,000 have been killed since March 2011.

The resolution "demands that all parties, in particular the Syrian authorities, promptly allow rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access for UN humanitarian agencies... including across conflict lines and across borders."

It also demands all parties "cease all attacks against civilians, as well as the indiscriminate employment of weapons in populated areas, including shelling and aerial bombardment, such as the use of barrel bombs, and methods of warfare... to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering."

The following is the full text of the 22 February 2014 UN Security Council Resolution 2139 
(Syria -- Humanitarian Assistance)

* * * *

The Security Council

Recalling its resolutions 2042 (2012), 2043 (2012) and 2118 (2013), and its Presidential Statements of 3 August 2011, 21 March 2012, 5 April 2012 and 2 October 2013,

Reaffirming its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Syria, and to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Being appalled at the unacceptable and escalating level of violence and the death of well over 100,000 people in Syria, including over 10,000 children, as reported by the UN Secretary-General and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict,

Expressing grave alarm at the significant and rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Syria, in particular the dire situation of hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped in besieged areas, most of whom are besieged by the Syrian armed forces and some by opposition groups, as well as the dire situation of over 3 million people in hard-to-reach areas, and deploring the difficulties in providing, and the failure to provide, access for the humanitarian assistance to all civilians in need inside Syria,

Emphasizing the need to respect the UN guiding principles of humanitarian emergency assistance and stressing the importance of such assistance being delivered on the basis of need, devoid of any political prejudices and aims, commending the efforts of the United Nations and all humanitarian and medical personnel in Syria and in neighboring countries, and condemning all acts or threats of violence against United Nations staff and humanitarian actors, which have resulted in the death, injury and detention of many humanitarian personnel,

Expressing grave concern at the increasing number of refugees and internally displaced persons caused by the conflict in Syria, which has a destabilizing impact on the entire region, and underscoring its appreciation for the significant and admirable efforts that have been made by the countries of the region, notably Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt, to accommodate the more than 2.4 million refugees who have fled Syria as a result of the on-going violence, while acknowledging the enormous political, socioeconomic and financial impact of the presence of large-scale populations in these countries, and underscoring the need for all parties to respect and maintain the security and civilian character of camps for refugees and internally displaced persons,

Welcoming the pledges totaling $2.5 billion at the Second International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria, hosted by Kuwait on 15 January 2014, and expressing its appreciation to Member States and regional and sub-regional organizations that have pledged to provide humanitarian assistance to people in need in all parts of Syria, including internally displaced persons, as well as to refugees in neighboring host countries, and calling on all Member States to ensure the timely disbursement of pledges and continued support in line with growing humanitarian needs,

Calling on all parties to immediately end all violence which has led to human suffering in Syria, save Syria’s rich societal mosaic and cultural heritage, and take appropriate steps to ensure the protection of Syria’s World Heritage Sites,

Strongly condemning the increased terrorist attacks resulting in numerous casualties and destruction carried out by organizations and individuals associated with Al-Qaeda, its affiliates and other terrorist groups, and reiterating its call on all parties to commit to putting an end to terrorist acts perpetrated by such organizations and individuals, while reaffirming that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed,

Expressing its regret that its Presidential Statement of 2 October 2013 (S/PRST/2013/15) has not delivered as expected and has not yet translated into meaningful progress on the ground, and that humanitarian aid delivery continues to be impeded throughout Syria, while condemning all cases of denial of humanitarian access and recalling that arbitrary denial of humanitarian access and depriving civilians of objects indispensable to their survival, including wilfully impeding relief supply and access, can constitute a violation of international humanitarian law,

Emphasizing that the humanitarian situation will continue to deteriorate in the absence of a political solution to the crisis, reiterating its endorsement of the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012 (Annex II of Resolution 2118 (2113)) and demanding that all parties work towards the immediate and comprehensive implementation of the Geneva Communiqué aimed at bringing an immediate end to all violence, violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international law, and facilitating the Syrian-led political process launched in Montreux on 22 January 2014, leading to a transition that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people and enables them independently and democratically to determine their own future,

1.       Strongly condemns the widespread violations of human rights and international humanitarian law by the Syrian authorities, as well as the human rights abuses and violations of international humanitarian law by armed groups, including all forms of sexual and gender-based violence, as well as all grave violations and abuses committed against children in contravention of applicable international law, such as recruitment and use, killing and maiming, rape, attacks on schools and hospitals as well as arbitrary arrest, detention, torture, ill treatment and use as human shields, as described in the United Nations Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict in Syria (S/2014/31);

2.       Demands that all parties immediately put an end to all forms of violence, irrespective of where it comes from, cease and desist from all violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights, and reaffirm their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and stresses that some of these violations may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity;

3.       Demands that all parties immediately cease all attacks against civilians, as well as the indiscriminate employment of weapons in populated areas, including shelling and aerial bombardment, such as the use of barrel bombs, and methods of warfare which are of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering, and recalls in this regard the obligation to respect and ensure respect for international humanitarian law in all circumstances, and further recalls, in particular, the obligation to distinguish between civilian populations and combatants, and the prohibition against indiscriminate attacks, and attacks against civilians and civilian objects as such;

4.       Demands that all parties, in particular the Syrian authorities, fully implement the provisions of the 2 October 2013 Statement by the President of the Security Council (S/PRST/2013/15) including through facilitating the expansion of humanitarian relief operations, in accordance with applicable provisions of international humanitarian law and the UN guiding principles of humanitarian emergency assistance;

5.       Calls upon all parties to immediately lift the sieges of populated areas, including in the Old City of Homs (Homs), Nubl and Zahra (Aleppo), Madamiyet Elsham (Rural Damascus), Yarmouk (Damascus), Eastern Ghouta (Rural Damascus), Darayya (Rural Damascus) and other locations, and demands that all parties allow the delivery of humanitarian assistance, including medical assistance, cease depriving civilians of food and medicine indispensable to their survival, and enable the rapid, safe and unhindered evacuation of all civilians who wish to leave, and underscores the need for the parties to agree on humanitarian pauses, days of tranquility, localized cease-fires and truces to allow humanitarian agencies safe and unhindered access to all affected areas in Syria, recalling that starvation of civilians as a method of combat is prohibited by international humanitarian law;

6.       Demands that all parties, in particular the Syrian authorities, promptly allow rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access for UN humanitarian agencies and their implementing partners, including across conflict lines and across borders, in order to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches people in need through the most direct routes;

7.       Urges all parties, in particular the Syrian authorities, to take all appropriate steps to facilitate the efforts of the United Nations, its specialized agencies, and all humanitarian actors engaged in humanitarian relief activities, to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to the affected people in Syria, including by promptly facilitating safe and unhindered humanitarian access to populations in need of assistance in all areas under their control, and encourages further cooperation between the United Nations, its specialized agencies and all parties concerned, including Syrian civil society organizations, to facilitate access and the delivery of assistance in the entirety of the Syrian territory;

8.       Demands that all parties respect the principle of medical neutrality and facilitate free passage to all areas for medical personnel, equipment, transport and supplies, including surgical items, and recalls that under international humanitarian law, the wounded and sick must receive, to the fullest extent practicable, and with the least possible delay, medical care and attention required by their condition and that medical and humanitarian personnel, facilities and transport must be respected and protected, and expresses grave concern in this regard at the removal of medical supplies from humanitarian shipments;

9.       Also demands that all parties take all appropriate steps to protect civilians, including members of ethnic, religious and confessional communities, and stresses that, in this regard, the primary responsibility to protect its population lies with the Syrian authorities;

10.     Further demands that all parties demilitarize medical facilities, schools and other civilian facilities and avoid establishing military positions in populated areas and desist from attacks directed against civilian objects;

11.     Strongly condemns the arbitrary detention and torture of civilians in Syria, notably in prisons and detention facilities, as well as the kidnappings, abductions and forced disappearances, and demands the immediate end of these practices and the release of all arbitrarily detained persons starting with women and children, as well as sick, wounded and elderly people and including UN personnel and journalists;

12.     Urges all parties to take all appropriate steps to ensure the safety and security of United Nations personnel, those of its specialized agencies, and all other personnel engaged in humanitarian relief activities, without prejudice to their freedom of movement and access, stresses that the primary responsibility in this regard lies with the Syrian authorities and further stresses the need not to impede these efforts;

13.     Stresses the need to end impunity for violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights, and reaffirms that those who have committed or are otherwise responsible for such violations and abuses in Syria must be brought to justice;

14.     Strongly condemns the increased terrorist attacks resulting in numerous casualties and destruction carried out by organizations and individuals associated with Al-Qaeda, its affiliates and other terrorist groups, urges the opposition groups to maintain their rejection of these organizations and individuals which are responsible for serious violations of international humanitarian law in opposition-held areas, calls upon the Syrian authorities and opposition groups to commit to combating and defeating organizations and individuals associated with Al-Qaeda, its affiliates and other terrorist groups, demands that all foreign fighters immediately withdraw from Syria, and reaffirms that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security, and that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed;

15.     Emphasizes that the humanitarian situation will continue to deteriorate in the absence of a political solution, welcomes in this regard the Geneva Conference on Syria launched in Montreux on 22 January 2014, and demands that all parties work towards the comprehensive implementation of the Geneva Communiqué of 30 June 2012 leading to a genuine political transition that meets the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people and enables them independently and democratically to determine their own future, and further stresses that rapid progress on a political solution should include full participation by all groups and segments of Syrian society, including women, and represents the only sustainable opportunity to resolve the situation in Syria peacefully, and that the implementation of this resolution is key to meeting the humanitarian needs of the Syrian people;

16.     Urges all Member States to contribute or increase their support to the United Nations’ humanitarian appeals to meet the spiraling needs of people affected by the crisis, and to provide this support in coordination with the relevant United Nations agencies, and to ensure that all pledges are honored in full, and further urges all Member States, based on burden sharing principles, to support the neighboring host countries to enable them to respond to the growing humanitarian needs, including by providing direct support;

17.     Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Council on the implementation of this resolution by all parties in Syria, in particular paragraphs 2 through 12, in 30 days of its adoption and every 30 days thereafter, and upon receipt of the Secretary-General’s report, expresses its intent to take further steps in the case of non-compliance with this resolution;

18.     Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.

Armenian Genocide: A tear a day

By Naeema Zarif (naeemazarif.com)

The Armenian Genocide is not something I usually talk about casually with my Armenian friends. Ninety-six years since, it is still a subject that hits a raw nerve and I am never sure it is the right time to inquire deeper.

Today, April 24, commemorates the Armenian Genocide carried out by the “Young Turk” government of the Ottoman Empire in 1915-1916. One to one-and-a-half million Armenians were killed during the Armenian Genocide – through wholesale massacres and deportations consisting of forced marches -- out of two-and-a-half million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire.

Armenians all over the world commemorate the tragedy on April 24, the day in 1915 when 250-300 Armenian leaders, writers, thinkers and professionals in Constantinople, present-day Istanbul, were rounded up, deported and killed. The Ottoman military then uprooted Armenians from their homes and forced them to march for hundreds of miles, depriving them of food and water, to the desert of what is now Syria.

It is unfortunate that this year the remembrance falls on the same day as Easter. Being in Beirut, the subject of the Genocide came up a couple of days ago with my best friend and soul mate Zepure Hamparian Mansour and another friend, Marlen Salbashian. It is something we have never discussed, even after 36 years of friendship. I asked both friends to contribute their thoughts on the day, for Mich Café.

It wasn’t easy for either, but here is what each had to say:

Zepure Hamparian Mansour:*

Commemorating the Armenian Genocide is always linked with my grandmother, one of the survivors.

Haiganoush, Haigo to us, was a young widow when she was forced to leave her home in Erzurum and begin the long march to Syria. She had two children: Hasmig, nine; and three-year-old Arpine (my mother). My grandfather, Dikran, had passed away before the deportation. I remember Haigo telling me how lucky he was to have died of Typhus rather than be slaughtered by the Turks.

Haigo, like thousands of Armenians, marched towards the unknown. But she and her two daughters were among the lucky ones who made it to Aleppo.

My mother Arpine, married another survivor, Garo, and they settled in Tripoli, north Lebanon. Hasmig remained in Aleppo. Haigo shuttled between her two daughters. She spent her last years and died in Tripoli.

Zepure in the arms of her grandmother Haigo, Arpine, Garo and her siblings

As a little girl, coming home from school to find Haigo visiting from Aleppo always made me ecstatic. My homework was done quickly so I could sit next to her, cuddle her and listen to her fairy tales. Whatever the story, she would always end talking about the deportation.

I was still young. The words massacre, rape, hunger, deportation, refugee camps… meant nothing to me. Haigo would describe every single detail as if it had happened the day before. Her memory was so vivid and she relived every moment while recounting all the stories.

I still remember her telling me she had some gold coins (called Osmalieh) saved and how she had to use them, on the deportation march, to pay for a loaf of bread the Turkish soldiers would sometimes trade off.

It has always been a mystery to me how Haigo and her daughters survived. Was it luck? Were my mother and aunt too young to be snatched away?

When they finally made it to Aleppo, my grandmother found a room in an old house. She said it had a fountain in a central court with the rooms all around. A couple of years ago, on a visit to Aleppo, we were invited to a trendy restaurant called Sissi House. The minute I walked in, it was just as Haigo described her lodgings. All these old houses are now boutique hotels and restaurants to wipe out the memory of the misery of the thousands who used to live there.

One of the most poignant stories I remember Haigo telling me is how, every morning, she filled a big pot with water and pretended to be cooking something. She was doing some embroidery for the Immaculate Conception nuns. Hasmig was in school and my mother played in the courtyard with the other toddlers. But one day, a curious child removed the lid and told everyone that Arpine’s mother was only boiling water. Haigo had too much pride to show anyone her misery.

My grandmother was special to me. As a child, I’d ask her why my ears were so big. She would say: “Look at my ears, look at your mother’s ears. We all have big ears. Intelligent people have big ears.” And it’s true that Haigo was an intelligent, confident and strong woman. She was a survivor.

Haigo, my cherished grandmother: your husband Dikran’s wedding ring with your names engraved on the band is now on my beloved husband Yorki’s finger. Haigo, you are with us forever.

*Zepure is the Program Coordinator, Radiologic Technology Training Program, American University of Beirut Medical Center

Marlen Salbashian*:

Imagine…

You’re walking under the Syrian Desert sun.  You are cradling a one-week old baby girl in your arms. While trying to shield her from the burning sun, you’re trying to hold on to the hand of your 12-year-old daughter. 

What will you do if she is killed in front of your eyes? 

You still haven’t wiped away the image of your three other daughters, raped and slaughtered in their own beds by the vicious Turks. You still haven’t found the tears to mourn them. Dehydration has left your eyes tearless. 

Then you remember your elder son, your only son, beheaded, just because…

Imagine…

Marlen Salbashian

The baby starts crying. You have no more milk in your breasts to feed her, your heart aches and you feel the child’s pain crippling you. You feel helpless but will do anything just to give her some comfort. But what?

Suddenly, you brother-in-law is by your side. He looks at the child. With a decisive voice he orders you to leave the baby in the middle of the desert. You can’t even imagine doing something like that, but calmly he explains: If you walk through the desert with the child in your arms, she will die of starvation. But if you leave her in the desert, there is a slight chance some Arab nomads might find her and give her a home.

Imagine…

How can he say something like that? This is your daughter, you’ve carried her in your womb for nine months, you’ve given birth to her, and you love her. 

You love her. That’s the keyword. You love her and have to leave her; leave her to coyotes, or some good-hearted Arabs, whichever comes first. But then at least she would have a chance.

Imagine… 

That’s how my aunt was left in the desert. 

My grandmother lived till the age of 92. Not a day passed without her shedding a tear for this daughter, whose fate is still unknown. 

And today, after 96 years, I still shed a tear a day for my aunt.

*Marlen is Assistant Coordinator, Radiologic Technology Training Program & Radiation Safety Program of Diagnostic Radiology at the American University of Beirut Medical Center